Sound Space Studios is the new practice space and recording studio for bands in Splott…read more Before Richie, the daddy of Sound Space, set up his new studios he rented out a static caravan to bands in the wilds of Lamby way, and I have to say that I loved that rickety old thing. So I was slightly cynical about coming to practice in his new shiny studio. However my desire to play in a space with a bit of personality was satisfied when I approached the new studios, having passed seven juggernauts with a sleeping giant in each cabin, bellies out and tasselled curtains half closed... The practice spaces themselves were bigger than the caravan, not massive, but big enough to fit us seven dwarfs in. There were two rooms available when we visited, but a third has now been finished. The PA and equipment did the job, but have used better. Richie and his mate, who's name has currently escaped me are both musicians themselves so they were very understanding of our needs and always on hand to help if was is a problem. A great space run by a couple of nice guys - try it! Equipment hire for rehearsals Standard Drum kit (without Snare + Kick pedal) - £1 per hour Snare - £1 per hour Kick pedal - £1 per hour Guitar amp - £1 per hour Bass amp - £1 per hour

For bands in Cardiff looking for rehearsal space, equipment hire, affordable but high quality…read morerecording facilities, or storage space for their own equipment, Musicbox offers a comprehensive range of services and facilities. Bands such as Lost Prophets and Los Campesinos rehearse there regularly, apparently. They're probably best known for the six band practice rooms (with air con) available from as little as £5 per hour during off peak periods (10am-6pm) with a single person discount, and up to £11 per hour during peak period (6pm until midnight). Bands can also book out rooms for a whole day from about £110 - although they have a special all-day Saturday deal for £50 at the moment. The smaller Cardiff Rehearsal Rooms in Roath are cheaper (with 3 hour sessions from £20) but have fewer rooms. Musicbox also offers high quality recording facilities and have experienced engineers and producers on hand to help bands get the best sound - plus their equipment hire is useful if some of your kit gets broken just before a gig! Word gets around quickly on Cardiff's local music scene, so reputation is everything with a business like this - and Musicbox seems to have built up a good one, and offers genuinely good value for money.

I've ended up rehearsing in most of the rehearsal studios in Cardiff at one point or another in my…read morelife, and I can safely say Musicbox is the pick of the bunch. Time was, before it went bankrupt and suddenly closed down, Clearline was the place to go; it had big enough rooms for all kinds of bands, equipment to rent if you needed it for the evening and opening times that suited the slightly nocturnal among us. And Musicbox is just like Clearline except, you know, moreso.... Sessions are booked in three hour blocks, with blocks going for £30 for the session. They open from 10am to midnight for their main practice spaces, which consist of six colour coded rooms each big enough to fit a thirteen piece band in with enough room for spectators. Musicbox is the tops, and the big Welsh bands seem to agree. My Chemical Romance, Los Campesinos and lostprophets are semi-regular visitors to the place and you'll often see them unloading their gear as you're entering.

This is a fantastic facility to have just outside of Cardiff. As part of the Media Center, housing…read moreITV Wales and other major media names, the studio is just right for small, musical endeavors. Run by a BAFTA award winning composer and arranger and his partner in crime, a well qualified and experienced sound technician, there is a wealth of expertise available. And what is best is that as much as it is run by specialists, it is a really friendly and down to earth environment. I've never seen so much shiny equipment, and there are facilities for recording, mixing and syncing with film and video. The main studio is fully equipped with some state of the art instruments, as well as some fantastic vintage gear. If you're looking for somewhere to record you next album then this would be a great place to start your search!

John Rea runs this fantastic recording studio out in the business park wilderness that is Culvers…read moreCross. Situated in the ITV Wales building, it shares its corridor space with the movers and groovers of the media scene. If you're a band, and you want to rehearse and record an EP, then John will be able to help you out for a reasonable fee. You can feel safe in the knowledge that you are in good hands here, as John is a BAFTA award winning composer. I don't know a lot about musical instruments, so am not going to pretend I do. What I saw was all very pretty and shiny, some of it was massively funky looking, in fact I feel a sudden urge to learn piano....

A range of amplifiers to choose from, up to date kit, and free drums, leads, amps etc! We booked in…read morefor a Tuesday 3-6 slot and got a weekday discount.

Tucked between two shops, behind a lane, up a wooden flight of stairs is the grungy, the lovely,…read morethe shabby chic - Cardiff Rehearsal Rooms. The equipment here is top class and includes a fantastic PA and full back line available at no extra cost. Steve, Cardiff Rehearsal Rooms proprietor, is on hand to make sure you're set up ok. There are two rooms available and subsidies for 'young talent'. Prices start at £20 per 3 hour session. Our band (Boris) usually pays £25 a session, which seems quite reasonable. I'm not entirely sure how the prices are worked out, but bands that practice here regularly and book regular sessions get the best prices. I 'spose every business has got to diversify these days and Cardiff Rehearsal Rooms sideline is party services: "suitable for birthdays, hen/stag celebrations." I highly recommended this studio for bands or Stags!

Also known as Room303, this is another quality space for bands in Cardiff to hire rooms where they…read morecan rehearse for gigs - with excellent equipment and probably the lowest prices around. For £20 you can hire a room for three hours, which is a bargain - and they always do their best to accommodate bands' needs, with full back line available at no extra cost. Another bonus is that if you're students or home-grown musicians from South Wales, Room303 offers special discounted rates - and being located in Roath, at the heart of studentville, these rooms are probably located in a pretty handy spot for most student bands.

If you happen to wander past The Friary Centre of an evening (which would be very impressive,…read morebecause it's down a back alleyway behind all the main shops on Queens Street) you might hear music drifting on the air. That's because 4 orchestra, 3 choirs, 6 brass bands, 3 percussion groups and many other people besides practise here on a regular basis. This is where the Cardiff County Vale of Glamorgan Music Service (CCVG) has all their rehearsals for their under 18 county music groups. So you might, if you were walking past, also suddenly be engulfed by teenagers carrying instrument cases. It's dangerous down that alley! The Friary Centre has 10 floors of office space, with several large halls suitable to large ensembles. There was once a small cafe type thing on the 10th floor, but that might not exist any more. It's been a little while.

Warwick Hall is an old warehouse planted at the back of Whitchurch Road. You'll have to go down a…read morecouple of back alleys to find it, and there's very little room for cars to park, drive or turn around, but somehow they've managed to turn this place into a serviceable recording studio and rehearsal space for the bands of Cardiff. It's run by two brothers who have managed to make it into one of the more known rehearsal studios in the area by offering very reasonable rates for the time and by catering to the many local car-less student bands that spring up during university terms. The recording facilities are cheap too, but they give a fair sound for what you'll end up paying, mixing and mastering the recording being thrown in with the price. The inside is a little bit grubby, looking a bit like a recording studio from a Dickens' novel. If you can get past that though, this place has everything you need for your burgeoning band to get started.